Background
James Randolph Robertson was born in 28. 06. 1742 in Brunswick, Virginia , United States, the eldest son of John and Mary (Gower) Robertson. In his youth his parents removed to Wake County, North Carolina, United States
Agent explorer Brigadier-general representor
James Randolph Robertson was born in 28. 06. 1742 in Brunswick, Virginia , United States, the eldest son of John and Mary (Gower) Robertson. In his youth his parents removed to Wake County, North Carolina, United States
He had received a meager education from his wife, and he took an interest in providing educational facilities in the settlement. When the North Carolina Assembly chartered Davidson Academy, later the University of Nashville, in 1785, he became a trustee.
He became a member of the court created by the Watauga Association and one of the agents for the settlers in treating with the Indians for the lease under which their land was held before 1775. He participated in Lord Dunmore's War at the battle of Point Pleasant in 1774. When in 1775 Richard Henderson. made his purchase of Kentucky lands from the Indians, Robertson was present and probably exerted influence on the negotiations. He signed the petition of the Wataugans for incorporation into North Carolina in 1776. He acted as agent to the Cherokee for North Carolina and Virginia during these early years and for a time lived among them, but in 1777 he accompanied the Virginia troops on an expedition against them. He also conducted the defense of the Watauga fort in 1777, holding the rank of captain. In 1778 the North Carolina Assembly instructed him as agent to reside permanently among the Cherokee, but he resigned the following year. During the latter year he carried a warning to the Wataugans of a Chickamauga attack. In 1779 he headed an exploring party that contemplated a settlement at French Lick, a trading post on the Cumberland, on land purchased by the Transylvania Company. He returned to Watauga to lead a group of settlers who, on Jan. 1, 1780, arrived on the Cumberland at the present site of Nashville. They, with others who came in April, adopted the Cumberland Compact as a basis of government, and he served as presiding officer of the court set up. In 1781 he made an alliance with the Chickasaw Indians in order to avert danger of their further attacks. He was elected colonel of the militia for the region and exhibited a firm and wise leadership during the early, critical years on the Cumberland. He had received a meager education from his wife, and he took an interest in providing educational facilities in the settlement. When the North Carolina Assembly chartered Davidson Academy, later the University of Nashville, in 1785, he became a trustee. In 1785 he represented his county in the North Carolina Assembly. When difficulties in the western settlements led the frontiersmen to believe that the states were indifferent to their interests, he, with others, played an active though obscure part in the Spanish Conspiracy from 1786 to 1789 (see Whitaker, post). In 1787 he again sat in the North Carolina Assembly. During the same year, he led the Coldwater expedition against the Indians. When William Blount organized the territorial government southwest of the Ohio, he nominated Robertson as one of the brigadier-generals, a position from which he resigned in 1794 after ordering the Nickajack campaign. He also aided Blount in negotiating the Holston treaty in 1791. He represented Davidson County in the constitutional convention of Tennessee in 1796. In 1798 he entered the Tennessee Senate in place of Thomas Hardeman, who had resigned. During that year Governor Sevier appointed him to represent Tennessee at the first treaty of Tellico between the United States and the Cherokee. In 1807 he acted with Return J. Meigs in negotiating another treaty with the Cherokee. During the later years of his life, he served as Indian agent to the Chickasaw and resided for some time at the agency at Chickasaw Bluffs. There he died.
During that year Governor Sevier appointed him to represent Tennessee at the first treaty of Tellico between the United States and the Cherokee.
Member of the court created by the Watauga Association
Although he did not aspire to official position, he assumed county and state offices when urged by the settlers, who had confidence in his ability. His influence was personal rather than political, and men of all groups sought his counsel. His fairness, wisdom, and firmness brought him his greatest success as a mediator between the settlers and the Indians. Although he associated himself with land companies, he did not attempt speculation on an extensive scale. According to his granddaughter's description, he was of medium height, heavy but not fat, and his manner quiet and business-like. As a typical pioneer, he remained the leader in the Cumberland settlements until his death.
On October 20, 1768, he married Charlotte Reeves, the daughter of George Reeves, who became the mother of his eleven children. In 1770 with a party of hunters he visited the lands on the Holston in search of a place for a home. He located a claim and planted a crop near other settlers on the Watauga. In the autumn he returned to Wake County and removed his family to the West in 1771.
